Governor Mills Declares National Clean Energy Week in Maine

Governor Janet Mills has declared September 23rd through September 27th, 2019 as National Clean Energy Week to encourage individuals, local governments, corporations, and other organizations in Maine to champion renewable energy solutions that create clean energy jobs and mitigate climate change.

“Climate change threatens everything that is fundamental to us as a people and as a state,” said Governor Mills. “Tackling our overreliance on fossil fuels, reducing our carbon emissions, and transitioning our households, businesses and government agencies to renewable energy will create clean energy jobs, strengthen our economy, and mitigate the impacts of climate change. I encourage all Maine people to join with me in observing National Clean Energy Week and recommitting ourselves to a cleaner, greener future.”

Governor Mills’ proclamation follows the announcement that she will be the first sitting governor of Maine to deliver remarks before the United Nations (UN) about Maine’s effort to fight climate change during the UN Climate Action Summit 2019.

Governor Mills has made tackling climate change and ushering in renewable energy a key priority of her Administration. She has signed legislation to increase Maine’s Renewable Portfolio Standard to 80 percent by 2030 and set a goal of 100 percent renewable energy by 2050; set a goal of installing 100,000 new heat pumpsby 2025 and expanded availability of electric vehicles; and established mandates to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 45 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050 and created the bipartisan Maine Climate Council to provide recommendations to meet these targets.

The full text of Governor Mills’ proclamation is below.

WHEREAS, Maine is committed to a clean energy future and enjoys abundant forms of renewable energy that power homes and businesses across the State; and

WHEREAS, the generation of power from renewable sources, including forms such as hydro, wood, wind, and solar, plays an important role in meeting the needs of our homes and businesses; and

WHEREAS, Maine has increased its Renewable Portfolio Standard to 80 percent by 2030 and has a goal of 100 percent renewable energy by 2050; and

WHEREAS, Maine leads New England in wind-powered generation; and

WHEREAS, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy ranked Maine 14th in its 2018 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard; and

WHEREAS, Maine supports the strategic electrification of heating and transportation, establishing the goal of installing 100,000 new heat pumps by 2025 as well as announcing initiatives to expand availability of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure; and

WHEREAS, Maine has established mandates to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 45 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050 and created the Maine Climate Council to provide recommendations to meet these targets; and

WHEREAS, National Clean Energy Week provides an opportunity for individuals, local governments, corporations, and other organizations in Maine to champion common sense solutions that address the United States’ evolving economic and energy needs;

NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that I, Janet T. Mills, Governor of the State of Maine, do hereby proclaim September 23rd through September 27th, 2019 as

NATIONAL CLEAN ENERGY WEEK

throughout the State of Maine, and I urge all citizens to recognize this observance.

Cory Morningstar "The art of propaganda has been nothing less than brilliant. The deceit is so thick – you need a knife to cut through it. The corruption and greed so deep you need wings to stay above it and thigh high boots to wade through it. An alluring tapestry of luminous lies, interwoven with finely textured deception and silk-like corruption – as smooth and seductive as freshly churned butter."

Thank you for the recommendation on Snowden's "Permanent Record". I promise you that I will read it. I have already seen the DVD "Citizen Four". I recommend you watch that if you haven't. When news of Snowden first broke, my instincts told me he was a traitor. Over time I have changed my mind on him.

The following article takes an incredibly harsh look at the media's role as stenographers for the government and power elite and brings up the concept of "third rail" subjects which the media simply won't touch.

No need to respond here as the context of this harsh look is no doubt highly controversial and polarizing. That said, I would not be deterred by any natural negative reactions you may have to the particular issue that is the context for the writer's look at the media, but rather simply read what she has to say about the media in general. One does not encounter such an indictment of the media very often, This is Part 21 of a series. I am personally looking forward very much to her upcoming Part 22: The Role of the Media: Act II — The Special Role of the CIA, which she references.

Perhaps what our governor truly needs to do is make an example out of all the state buildings in Augusta and Hallowell, including the governor's mansion. Take them all completely off-grid and power them with solar and wind and battery banks. Mandate EV's for all politicians. Show us how it's done, show us how to achieve a future without fossil fuels, and how we should properly recognize the proper way to power our lives properly 24/7, 365. Not just for a mere five days of religious observance. (And what exactly were the greenhouse gas emmissions in Maine in 1990? Which greenhouse gases is she talking about?)

If humans are alleged to be the main culprits regarding climate and the weather, why not have fewer humans?

We should reduce the guilty human population by a factor of ten to reduce the human impact on the environment so the other fauna and flora can survive and thrive.

Instead, we are reducing the innocent fauna and flora by a factor of ten, or more, and driving many species to extinction, because of human intrusion on their environment and habitats.

Castration?

The sperm of just one male would become very valuable in a world of many "castrati", and could produce many thousands of babies.

However, if the population of fertile young women were reduced ten times or more, the production of babies would be significantly limited.

Abortion for free for everyone, everywhere, upon voluntary request? Of course.

However, it would be better to act BEFORE the fact.

One way to do that, and have an anti-poverty program as well, is to donate $2500 to a young woman in a poor country to have a minor operation FOR FREE, so she can no longer have children.About $25 billion per year would treat 10 million young women each year.They likely would live in countries with per capita incomes of about $500/y or less

Almost all US inhabitants would not qualify.The families of these women would be well off in their countries.

They could afford to send their children to school and learn a trade.All would be voluntary.

The knee jerk comment often is “government eugenics”, etc.I want this to be a private effort.People would get a US income tax deduction, if they contributed to PRIVATE funds.Keep the government out of it.Make it a grassroots people-to-people program.

The rich get their tax deductions anyway.This time it would be for a good cause.Helping young women in poor countries become relatively well off and have a better future.

The world population is currently (2019-2020) growing at a rate of around 1.08% per year (down from 1.10% in 2018, 1.12% in 2017 and 1.14% in 2016); 1% of 7.5 billion is 75 million/y. The growth rate has decreased by nearly half since 1968 (2.08%).

A likely comment: “The funny thing about people who advocate reducing the population to save the planet is that they always want to start by killing babies. They never seem to see themselves as members of the surplus population in need of extermination. What a strange coincidence.”

My program is pro-active.No one gets pregnant in the first place.No one gets killed.Young women would be a lot better off in their own countriesNo reason to leave.Fewer refugees.All is private, people to people.Government is not involved.

I thought I had read this before...same reaction...Doesn't she read her energy profile?

"In 2018, about three-fourths of Maine's net electricity generation came from renewable energy resources, with 31% from hydroelectricity, 22% from biomass (mainly wood products), and 21% from wind. Petroleum provides for the largest share of Maine's energy and accounts for half of the energy consumed in the state"

I wrote then that the potential of hydro and tidal power, if realized, could supply all of Maine's electric needs and make us an exporter.....but this didn't account for her deal on running the CMP line from Hydro Quebec through Maine to Mass.

I was surprised at how determined she is to have that deal go through...any guesses on the payoff?

Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law

Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future

"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."

Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT

******** IF LINKS BELOW DON'T WORK, GOOGLE THEM*********

(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/

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